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The end of the year has arrived and in a few short weeks 2017 will be here. What a year it has been — I have written over 150 blog posts and numerous Facebook entries covering many different topics from looking after our home, contentment in whatever situation we find ourselves, coping with death, the importances of friendships, leaning on the Lord, understanding our bibles better, modern modesty (which was very popular), dealing with fear, bringing up children, motherhood and a number of current affair topics including politics. And each week I have included a variety of art which I hope you have enjoyed.

Its now time to take a break and enjoy Christmas with my family.
But before I go, I would like to thank the many wonderful people who have left comments, or just stopped by to read what I have written. It humbles me greatly to know that there are those of you who find my blog interesting and useful. I read each comment that is left and try to response as quickly as I can. Your com…

. . . . It could be any suburb near the city. Bird droppings smear footpaths already stained with spilt food and drink and spit. Discarded papers and cigarette butts swirl in the gutter. Amid all this, a frail, elderly woman, well dressed with a big floppy hat, edges a shopping trolley loaded with groceries painfully slowly along the path, battling the wind and a body sapped of strength. It's awful to watch. A couple of high school kids accidentally bump the trolley and snigger. A trade (tradesman) leaning against a wall gnawing on a kebab catches my eye and looks away. I'm walking two dogs who are straining at the leash, intoxicated with the smells on the ground and in the air. No one is willing to help the woman. And so for the next 20 minutes she grabs my offered arm and we inch our way to a cab rank two intersections away, wrestling with the trolley, the dogs and dozens of passers-by who couldn't give a toss. At one stage a taxi rolls by. I plead with the driver, who …

The Palace of Versailles
Last weekend I attended an exhibition of 130 pieces of art, sculpture, carpets, tapestries and other treasures from the Palace of Versailles. It is very rare for anything from this grand palace to leave France, so Australia has been very fortunate to see these beautiful masterpieces. Even this very small selection showed the opulence of this grand palace.

The palace was built in the 17th century for King Louis XIV, The Sun King, who was France’s King at the time. It took 36,000 workers to construct the palace, along with its gardens. After its completion, it could accommodate as many as 5,000 people at a time.The Palace of Versailles has a total number of 2,153 windows, 1,200 fireplaces, 700 rooms, over 67 staircases.The palace itself contains 67,002 square metres (721,206 square feet) of floor space.The Palace of Versailles was decorated with valuable paintings and works of art. It contained an estimated 6,000 paintings and 5,000 pieces of furniture and other…

The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. (Proverbs 31: 11-12)
There is two schools of thought:
1. As a submissive wife, we should never disagree with our husbands because he is the head of the household and his word is final, we should share the same views as our husband in all things and never question his decisions.
2. Yes, we can have different view points to our husbands and as adults we can discuss and debate these ideas.
Just imagine if all wives thought the same as their husbands and didn't dare have an opinion on anything. Our husbands wouldn't have anyone to bounce ideas off, to discuss different view points, to have a true intellectual conversation—it would be no different to living with one's housekeeper (as in the old days). Being a helpmate meanings helping your husband by sharing your views and ideas, having discussion about issues and its not about being silent, tha…

“There are naive questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions, questions put after inadequate self-criticism. But every question is a cry to understand the world. There is no such thing as a dumb question.”― Carl Sagan

No question is EVER stupid. We should never be afraid to ask questions and those receiving the questions should never mock or make fun of questions received. What might appear silly to you may be a genuine concern for someone else or they simply don’t know the answer. We learn by asking questions, what would happen if we told our children that their questions were stupid—they would be upset, offended and stop asking. Adults can also be upset by these sorts of comments too. I work as a researcher and provide information to a select range of clients. I always tell my clients “there is no stupid questions” and that I will assist them any way I can. I never make fun of their questions, I never belittle their questions, I never tell others that the questions I have just …

We are BOMBARDED by a worldly mindset through the electronic media that constantly clamours for our attention. . . . television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the internet, social media all blasting out their message and trying their hardest to push out the Word of God. Timothy didn't have to contend with all this noise, however he did have to keep his flock from wandering back to their pagan ways. Paul, in his letters to Timothy understood this threat and wrote the following: But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.(2 Timothy 3:14-16) As Christ…

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth. (2 Timothy 2:24)

I love the array of Christian women bloggers, it is wonderful to see so many spreading the Word of God to others. So many being supportive of other women, kind and caring and so very encouraging. However it saddens me when I read blogs where the author assume they are always right and never listen to others, never stops to listen to other women’s stories and situations, lacking empathy. Just because a blog post contains bible verses doesn’t make it accurate—interpretations of the bible has causes many an argument and disagreement throughout history. Just because someone says they have “the truth” doesn’t always meant that. The bible is the Truth, we are just weak servants who often make mistakes when we read and interpreted the Word of God.

Australia Summer
When one thinks of Australia, beaches and summer is often the first thing that springs to mind - here are some photos taken at the Sunshine Coast, in the State of Queensland. I spend a few days in Queensland in early November, the weather was very warm so a trip to the seaside was very welcome as the sea breezes were beautiful and cooling. This area is very popular with visitors and there are many apartments to stay at. The weather is warm and much more humid than southern Australia.

The following three photos were taken in Brisbane, the capital of the State of Queensland - otherwise known as the Sunshine State as it is usually warm and sunny (probably a bit like Florida in climate).

Popular posts from this blog

Washing day
Wash on Monday,
Iron of Tuesday,
Mend of Wednesday,
Churn on Thursday,
Clean on Friday,
Bake on Saturday,
Rest on Sunday.
Sometimes the ordinary and mundane have a quiet beauty we haven't really taken much notice of. Today's art is all about the washing on the line and some of these paintings are quite striking.

All quotes used today are by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Enjoy.

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all."

"Home is the nicest word there is"

"The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies"
And what happens after the washing is dry . . . the ironing!

One of the most popular topics among women Christian bloggers is the issue of whether women and girls should only wear skirts and dresses or is it ok to wear slacks/jeans. Some say Christian women should only wear skirts/dresses, others say it isn't a sin issue therefore it doesn't matter as long as the outfit remains modest. Others say skirts should be to the ground, others are happy at knee length. When you look across the blogs the responses are a mixed bag and it must be confusing to those women trying to decide which way to turn. So what do I think? This is my own personal convictions on the topic and I am not telling anyone else what to wear. I grew up wearing skirts/dresses almost exclusively. All the women in my family - young and old - wore skirts and dresses. I simply wasn't allow to wear anything different. I accepted this quite happierly as a child but as I got older (into my teens) it began to niggle me, partly because I began to stand out which wasn't s…

Art Friday: Susan Wheeler
Illustrator
Todays art is all about cute little mice and bunnies. I think they are adorable and I hope you do to. My favourite is the top one - I just wish I could join them for a cup of tea and scones!

Some families are well off, other families struggle financially, some have periods of poverty, others have burst of wealth. We are all different when it comes to how much money we bring in each week, how much money is in the bank or how big or small our debts are. We are all different, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. However I have noticed a growing trend among some Christian families to share with everyone how poor they are, how much they are struggling, how old the washing machine is or all the things they do without. In fact some bloggers activity encourage women to give up their jobs and return home and live in poverty as this is seen as the ultimate Christian sacrifice (interestingly I have seen this done by women who are so much more financially better off which even worse). Some families do exceptionally well on a very low income and others do very badly on a high income. However, what concerns me is the boastfulness of those who have chosen to live in poverty as if those who…

Who remembers free school milk?
I can.
And yuck . . . warm, creamy milk in glass bottles that tasted horrible.
Why were the bottles always left in the sun to get warm, especially in summer? They could sit for quite sometime until recess, some probably went slighly off!
And if you forgot to shake the bottle you got a mouth full of clumpy cream!
The programme started at the beginning of the 20th century with all children in kindergarten, infant and primary schools receiving free milk to improve their nutrition and general health. Between 1951 and 1973 the Commonwealth Schools’ Free Milk Scheme provided one third of a pint of whole milk per day to primary school children throughout Australia. The scheme ceased om 1973 but reintroduced in 1994.
Providing the milk had cost $72,000 in 1951, whereas it had grown in cost to just over $10 million in 1969. By 1970 the government was starting to wonder if the programme was producing any benefit, except turning children off milk. This document …